


Nobody knows my love

by neerapen



Category: Marvel 616
Genre: Avengers Vol 3, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-31 21:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neerapen/pseuds/neerapen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carol is a great friend. It's not her fault if Wanda is falling for her, really. It's just bad luck. Or chaos magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nobody knows my love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Muccamukk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muccamukk/gifts).



> First and foremost, thanks to Chibi for the support and to psalmoflife for her awesome beta job!  
> This story takes place during Avengers Vol 3, and pretends that the Simon issue is not too entwined with Wanda's feelings for him (sorry Simon). Also, Carol is still in New York, because it's easier that way. :V Just pretend that her apartment is the one where she lives in the Captain Marvel issues. 
> 
> tl;dr: Every alteration is in the name of love.

The thing is, Wanda never thinks of Carol in the same terms she thinks of Jan or any other Avenger. She realized it long ago, but putting it into something coherent took her years, despite her efforts. She cares for Carol. She is her teammate, her friend, a true, intimate friend who Wanda has somehow abandoned when she most needed her.

Now Wanda is sure that the court martial did more harm than good, putting Carol on edge. She reacted as any normal being would: nobody was listening to her, nobody was giving her the benefit of the doubt, and Carol decided to quit the Avengers.

Wanda should have stopped her. Talked to her. Now she misses her, but she can't ask Carol to come back: it would be too much.

But her wish remain, and magic plays by its own rules.

Chaos magic, in particular, has one single imperative: it doesn't play by the rules.

 

After Carol leaves the Mansion, Wanda sees her for the first time in the middle of a small store, one block away from the Mansion. 

Wanda is frowning at the two bars in her hands as she tries to decide which one she wants. She finished her shampoo the night before and that morning she noticed that her stockpile of food - carefully hidden in her wardrobe - was missing a very important part.

Chocolate.

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

Someone walks down the aisle and Wanda tilts her head, twitching her lips. She has to decide, before people start staring at her.

"You called my mother," says Carol behind her, making her jump a little.

Wanda relaxes as she turns, smiling at her friend. "I needed to talk with you. I didn't think that you would've answered at your Avenger ID."

Carol looks fine:  skinny jeans and t-shirt, witty smile on her lips and a simple ponytail. She huffs,  and steals the dark chocolate bar from Wanda's hand, looking at it. "You don't really like dark chocolate, you say that it's too bitter."

"But sometimes the milk one is too sweet." And since she was thinking of Carol, and Carol loves her chocolate to be bitter, part of Wanda really wanted to buy the dark one. Being nostalgic had always forced her to do the strangest things. She still has the suit that Magneto had prepared for her, the one accompanied by an absurd cape that takes a lot of space in her wardrobe. She really should be throwing it away. Or burning it. Filling it with her recent worries and purifying it with fire sounds like a good idea.

Carol looks at her with an arched eyebrow, then she searches around, her blonde hair beautiful as always, and she picks up another chocolate bar, handing it to Wanda. "Here, the 50% one is what you're searching for."

Wanda blinks, smiles and takes it from Carol's hand: "Thank you."

Carol shrugs, smiles with a corner of her lips and takes another chocolate bar. A chili flavored one."So, why did you call me?"

Wanda blinks for a moment. _Because I miss you,_ she wants to say. _Because I feel alone without you around,_ she thinks. There is also worry for her friend, but she knows that asking Carol if she's alright will only unnerve her.

"Because I wanted to see you," Wanda says, plain and simple.

Carol stares at her for a long moment, then puts the chocolate in her basket and drags Wanda away from the sweets section. "Do you want to have coffee together?"

"I didn't eat anything today" Wanda admits, wincing. This was caused  more by the current situation with Simon and Vision than by sole distraction.

"That's why I asked you." There's something unsaid in Carol's answer, but Wanda lets it go and pays for all: the chocolate bars, a new shampoo and her favorite blend of tea.

"I've found one of your t-shirts in my wardrobe," she says, changing the subject.

Carol snorts, arching her eyebrows. "Jarvis doesn't miss a shot, how did it happen?"

"I didn't say it was cleaned," Wanda smiles, shrugging.

"Still can't tell how it ended up there." Carol takes the bag with the groceries inside and they leave the store. "Maybe it was that time when Jan convinced us to play strip poker."

Wanda laughs, nodding. "Probably. Or maybe it was that time you ended up sleeping on my bed."

Carol looks at her with a plain expression. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Wanda smiles, then giggles, and a moment later they are both laughing on the sidewalk. Someone turns to look, but Wanda's heart is so light at the moment and she doesn't care. She looks at Carol and Carol is smiling at her, like those times back in the Avengers Mansion.

"By the way, why do you buy it yourself?" Carol points at the plastic bag. "You could just ask Jarvis to put it on the shopping list."

Wanda shrugs, a little smile still on her lips. "I like buying some things for myself," she admits, walking closer to Carol.

"Be careful, the next step is accepting to go shopping with Jan, and you used to hate that."

"I don't hate that!"

"You do, you just hide it very well."

Wanda looks at Carol and shakes her head, unable to stop smiling. "You are terrible."

"And you are a failed actress," Carol singsongs, patting Wanda's shoulder.

"Maybe if you'd come with me, I'd actually enjoy it," she admits, maybe pouting. A little. Or not pouting at all.

"Oh, really?" asks Carol, looking at her.

Wanda thinks about it for a bit, then smiles again, nodding. "I'd really love it."

 

*

 

The second time Wanda sees Carol it's because Carol actually searches for her. Wanda is walking in Central Park, enjoying the sun and the warmth of the day, when Carol descends at her side with grace, smiling at her with a "hello" already on her lips. 

Wanda finds herself smiling in response, hugging her just because she can. 

"Coffee?" Carol asks, tilting her head in the general direction of the street. 

"I have a better idea," Wanda answers, taking her hand. She really wants to get back in an old Transian bar. She used to go there a lot, but fighting evil doesn't always help to keep these kinds of habits. "There's a bar not far from here. We can make it in five minutes or less with, you know, a little help."

Carol huffs, holding back a laugh. "Wanda Maximoff, are you suggesting I use my powers for flying you to a bar?"

"We can call a taxi," Wanda answers, heading straight for an exit.

Carol follows quickly, watching her upside down. "Please, as if I'll let you do that. By the way, why are you alone?"

"I wanted to breathe a bit. Find myself again. Too much chaos lately." Wanda smiles. There's a couple sitting under a tree, looking dreamily at the sky and smiling peacefully. It hurts for a moment, then Carol pokes her in the ribs, making her giggle and turn. 

"Don't do that!" Wanda pushes her a little, and Carol actually moves, winking, as if she doesn't have super-strength. 

"I don't know what you are talking about," says Carol, all faked innocence.

Wanda smiles at her, huffs a little and links Carol's arm with hers. "So, let's talk about important things. How is your love life?"

"Okay, okay!" Carol holds up her free hand, laughing. "Please, can we not talk about men? I kinda hate all of them, at the moment."

"Only if you fly me to my favorite Transian bar," she offers.

If she planned on showing Carol how to dance in traditional clothes, it's too late for Carol to escape.

"I think I hate you," Carol says, huffing while she tries to follow Wanda's lead. The little bells on her dress tinkle with every moment, and Wanda finds herself laughing with satisfaction.

"Relax Carol, you think too much," she says, taking her hands and dancing to the rhythm of the drums. She guides Carol, makes her spin with her, until the music claims them both, releasing all the worries from their minds.

After, Carol hair is a mess, but her body is still as perfect as Wanda remembers.

If this is something Wanda keeps for herself, it's just out of caution. She doesn't know what Carol would think of it. .

 

*

 

They meet another time after that. Carol calls Wanda, saying that she's around. Wanda sighs with relief, because things in the Mansion aren't getting any better. She still thinks she should leave the Avengers, but she doesn't know where to go. Talking with Carol, maybe, could help her.

"Wanda? Are you here?" Carol calls, worry in her voice.

"Yeah. Sorry. Can I come over? I really need some time out of here."

Carol stays quiet for a moment and Wanda feels the need to ask her what she's thinking. She'd really like some telepathic powers at the moment.

"Uh, yeah, okay. At nine, my apartment?" offers Carol.

"Yeah, dinner?"

"Dinner, movie night. Whatever you want. Have you seen that movie with Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan?"

"Which one?"

"The one about the elevator and time travel."

Wanda thinks about it for a moment. "Kate and Leonard?"

"Almost. Kate and Leopold," Carol answers. Wanda can almost see the quirk of her lips from the way she talks.

"I'd really like to see it. Nine, you said?"

"Want me to pick you up?" Carol asks.

Wanda shakes her head, says, "No, I'll take a cab."

"Really? Drivers tend to avoid the Mansion entirely, you know that."

Sadly, Carol is right. Wanda smiles despite herself. "Oh, I'll manage."

 

Maybe it was a mistake.

Nobody knows about Carol's apartment. Nobody except Wanda, and that sits uncomfortably with her. It's enough, though, enough to help her gain some reassurance. Knowing Carol is so close is helping more that she can admit.

"Did you hex the taxi to stop in front of the mansion?" Carol asks as soon as she opens the door, a smirk on her lips.

"Me?" Wanda blinks, mimicking innocence, thoughts going out of her head. "I could never. I'm an Avenger."

"You are also a former villain," Carol jokes and it doesn't hurt. Wanda knows it's only Carol bantering with her.

"Beware, technology and magic don't mix very well together."

"I'm not Tony Stark, I can cope with that."

They both laugh and Wanda forgets about Simon, forgets about her doubts and her fears.

Carol hugs her and all is right again.

 

Dinner with Carol is Chinese take-away with sparkling water.

"I wanted to cook something, but I'm not really good at it, "Carol says suddenly, in the middle of their little feast.

Wanda blinks. "It's okay. I like Chinese."

Carol smiles at her and Wanda finds herself returning the gesture. "I'm so lucky to have you."

"I was thinking the same thing." _And more_ , she adds in her mind. She's not stupid, she doesn't want to deny her feelings. She's already denying so much of herself. She doesn't want to be scared of what she is: mutant, witch, lover. They are all part of herself.

Carol is looking at her with her usual affection, holds her hand in hers, blue eyes sparkling while they reflects the TV.

"Wanda?" She sounds worried, Wanda notes. Wanda doesn't want to worry her. She wants Carol to be happy. She deserves to be happy.  

"Yes?" she asks, softly.

Carol is very close, she realizes, so close that she can see the little lines  in her irises. Wanda's heart skips a beat, and it's stupid but she thinks _that's it_ , as if she was waiting for it since the beginning.

Maybe she was, Wanda realizes, closing the distance between them. Their hands meet and thoughts become confused, nonsense words, a hole filled with a warm feeling that bursts inside Wanda like the most powerful enchantment.

Carol kisses her exactly like when she's on the field: she claims her lips, bites a corner and demands more with a slip of the tongue.

 Wanda talks about what is worrying her. She talks with her lips, with her need, with her hands. Carol listens to her, accepts her, embraces her and protects her from her fears.

 _It's too quick_ , a part of Wanda says.

 _It was about time_ , says another.

"You left too quickly." She says to Carol's lips. "I couldn't accept that you were leaving." _I cried,_ she wants to add, but she knows better. Carol doesn't want to talk about that day: it's written on the lines of her face, on the twitch of her lips. Wanda takes away that twitch and lays a hand on Carol's heart.

Carol looks at her, and her shoulders visibly relax."Sorry, but I couldn't stay." And Wanda understands, because sometimes she wants to leave too. Maybe, if she manages to talk about her doubts to Carol, she'll understand. She'll ask her to stay with her. Carol already said that there is enough room for two in the apartment.

"I know. I'm glad you're here now, though."

"It's okay, I got your back" Carol says, and Wanda finds herself believing it more than she could have imagined.

They laugh, and the kisses fade, the moment is broken, becomes something else. They return watching the movie, shoulders touching and Wanda doesn't mind. She doesn't mind at all.

 

After, when it's raining outside and Carol asks her to stay, she does so with a smile and a kiss on her lips.

 

 

 


End file.
